Retinal diseases

Overview

The retina is a thin layer of tissue on the inside back wall of your eye, containing millions of light-sensitive cells and other nerve cells that receive and organize visual information. Your retina sends this information to the brain through your optic nerve, enabling you to see.

Retinal diseases can affect the area of the retina that serves your central vision (the macula and the fovea at the center of the macula). Many retinal diseases share common symptoms and treatments, but each has unique characteristics. The goal of retinal disease treatments is to stop or slow disease progression and preserve, improve or restore vision.

Why choose Mayo Clinic for retinal diseases

• Expertise and experience. Each year, Mayo Clinic eye disease specialists (ophthalmologists) treat thousands of people for all types of retinal diseases and disorders. Highly skilled Mayo retinal specialists have advanced diagnostic tools and offer the latest treatments to restore vision or to slow or stop the disease and preserve as much vision as possible.
• Multispecialty team. Mayo Clinic's retinal experts work together with other specialists as needed to provide comprehensive care, treating your eye disease and other related conditions at the same time. For example, your ophthalmologist can consult with Mayo's diabetes specialists if you have diabetic retinopathy, a complication from diabetes that can result in blindness.
• Latest research. Mayo Clinic's research activities include national regenerative studies that investigate innovative ways to preserve, rejuvenate and restore vision.

Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., is ranked among the Best Hospitals for ophthalmology by U.S. News & World Report.

Mayo Clinic: Answers you can trust

At Mayo Clinic, we assemble a team of specialists who take the time to listen and thoroughly understand your health issues and concerns. We tailor the care you receive to your personal health care needs. You can trust our specialists to collaborate and offer you the best possible outcomes, safety and service.

Mayo Clinic is a not-for-profit medical institution that reinvests all earnings into improving medical practice, research and education. We're constantly involved in innovation and medical research, finding solutions to improve your care and quality of life. Your doctor or someone on your medical team is likely involved in research related to your condition.

Our patients tell us that the quality of their interactions, our attention to detail and the efficiency of their visits mean health care — and trusted answers — like they've never experienced.

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